Fallen from the Trees
by Corli
Summary: Post ROTK. Mainly concerned with the adventures of Legolas and Gimli, though other familliar faces will make an appearance. OC, but no or very little romance.
1. Arrival in Archet

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of Middle Earth, or any familliar characters. I do own this 'girl', whose name will be discovered later. Enjoy reading!  
  
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It was a late June morning in the Breeland village of Archet. Smoke was rising from the chimneys as women prepared the midday meal. The men of the village were either working in the fields, a little way from the village, or busy with crafts such as shoe-making or smithing. Small children were playing in the village square, next to the clear pond on which ducks were gliding. Doves were cooing in the tall trees that surrounded the village. It was a perfect scene of peace and harmony.   
  
The two warriors stood on the slight rise to the west of the village. The taller of the two studied the village with intense light blue eyes.   
  
"All appears calm. I think it will be all right if we go down there."  
  
"You think?" the shorter one asked. "I didn't know you could, Master Elf."  
  
The Elf laughed. "There is much you do not know, Master Gimli. But then, 'tis expected of one who cannot see further than his nose and hear anything but his own heartbeat. Or should I say his own breath?"   
  
"Huh!" snorted Gimli. "Blasted Haldir! I''l never hear the end of that one." His eyes glittered. "But at least I can use my hands for something else than writing silly poems about tall trees and shining stars!"  
  
"Well, I can write about new leaves and the sun too, if that makes me go up in your esteem," said Legolas.  
  
"Now see, if you perhaps wrote about glittering gold and beautiful caves, it could be worth something. But new leaves and the sun...what use is that?"  
  
Legolas smiled. "Alas, for someone with your understanding of truly beautiful things...it is no more use than standing here bickering while we could have food. Lets go down to the village." And with that words he strode towards the village, with a seething Gimli in his wake.  
  
A while ago an Elf and a Dwarf wouldn't easily buy food in a town of Men, but since the Ring was destroyed, quite a lot of Elves and Dwarves travelled through the villages, and the people weren't afraid of them or shunned them like they once did. Therefore Gimli and Legolas walked confidently through the square. They had heard that the inn, The Chirping Bird, had excellent food and warm, vermin-free beds for a low price, and that was they were headed.   
  
As they neared the playing children, a little boy with a tousled brown head saw them. "An Elf!" he yelled. "And a Dwarf!" added another child. Soon Legolas and Gimli were surrounded by small, babbling children. "You'll note, Master Gimli, how they always notice and name me first," said Legolas with grin, to which Gimli only huffed. Both of them loved children, and they answerd the many questions that were fired towards them patiently.  
  
"Why are you so fat?" the boy who had noticed them first asked the Dwarf.  
  
"Fat! It is no fat, child, it is all muscle. To be as good a warrior as I am, you need muscles."  
  
"So then...he isn't a good warrior?" asked the child, pointing towards the tall, slender Legolas.  
  
Gimli grinned. "Ah, in his own field, that would be archery, I daresay he is good enough. But in close combat, I think even you could beat him!"  
  
"Shall he try?" asked Legolas, who had been listening with amusement. "Come, little master, let us engage in combat."  
  
"Really?" asked the boy.  
  
Legolas smiled, put down his travelling pack, bow and quiver, and nodded.  
  
The boy glanced at Legolas a little warily, then launched himself at Legolas's legs. Legolas pretneded not to see the boy coming, and fell to the ground amidst the laughter of the other children. The boy hit Legolas with small fists, while the elf only covered his face.   
  
A woman came out of one of the houses to see what the comotion was about. When she saw the Elf and the Dwarf, her nut-brown eyes lit up. She ran towards them. "Masters! I need your help!" Legolas easily fended off the boy who was using him as a punching bag and gracefully got to his feet. "And who are you, fair lady, and why would you need our help?"   
  
The woman blushed, for she was a simple Bree-woman and 'fair' was not usually used to describe her. "I'm Lydia. A few days ago a girl came struggeling into the village. She was burning with fever and her words did not make sense. I put her to bed and fed her, then tried to heal her, but my herb teas did not work and she still lies there, tossing and turning."   
  
"And you believe we could heal her?" asked Gimli.  
  
"I hope so, but not only that," said Lydia. "Something I could catch in her ramblings was about a Dwarf and an Elf travelling together, and hobbits...though I see no hobbits here. But...are one of you maybe called Thran...something?"  
  
"Thranduil?" asked Legolas.  
  
"Thranduil! Yes, that was it!"  
  
"That is my father," said Legolas, his attention now away from the children and focused on this woman. "I am Legolas, and this is my friend Gimli. Could we see this girl you talk about?"  
  
Lydia nodded. "She is in my house. I will lead the way."  
  
Lydia's house was small, dark and stuffy. *No wonder the girl can't recover* thought Legolas. *No one could heal in this air*. He said nothing, afraid to offend his hostess. He did notice that Gimliwas thinking the same thing. Even the healing chambers of the Dwarves were aired and open to light. Fresh air is essential for recovery, everyone knows that. Legolas decided to let it slip somewhere in the conversation.   
  
Lydia turned into a room that was only slightly better aired than the rest of the house.   
  
"Here she lays. She hasn't opened her eyes since she collapsed on this bed three days before. I've been treating her as well as I could, but..." Lydia's anxious voice trailed off as she saw the look of astonishment on Legolas's fair face.  
  
*I know this girl!* he thought.   
  
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Please review, constructive critism welcome. This is my first fic, so I'm just a beginner. Oh, and the girl will NOT turn out a Mary-Sue, promise. I wouldn't wish that fate on my worst enemy... 


	2. Discoveries

Sorry I took so long to update this – I hope to get back into fanfic gradually.  
  
Thanks to my 2 reviewers! And without further ado, on to the story!  
  
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Legolas was back in Mirkwood, 17 years ago. They were hunting some Orcs that had tormented the villages of the Woodmen. Everyone at the palace was surprised when his father announced this hunting trip, because they didn't normally went out of their way to help the Woodmen. Thranduil just said that he felt like doing the Woodmen a favour. So a hunting party of about 25 Silvan Elves was gathered and now was near the northern borders of Mirkwood. With them was Ruscon, a Noldorin Elf visiting from Rivendell.  
  
Legolas's sensitive elf-ears picked up the sound of men and woman screaming, and the laughter of Orcs at the same time the others heard it. He glanced at his father, who was tightening his grip on his horses's reins. "Let's get rid of that confounded beasts," Thranduil said, his mouth taut with anger. With resounding cries, they charged. Arrows sliced through the air as the elves drew and shot, drew and shot. Orcs fell before then like trees before a gale. They saw Woodmen fighting, some with bows, some with swords. But the Orcs too, were fighting, hacking at people with their long scimitars or shooting their crude bows.  
  
Legolas saw a young woman clamber into a tree to get away for the Orcs. Good, he thought. I'm glad to see that these Men have some tree-sense. The next moment an Orc shot an arrow into the tree, and with a wail, the woman came falling down. She was dead before she hit the ground. This made Legolas angrier than anything he had seen before. He fought like a madman, and only when every last Orc was dead, he came to a halt.  
  
"A good fight," his father said to the few Woodmen still standing. "Good!" exploded one of them. "We've lost more than half our people, not to mention that our homes have been burnt down, and you call it good?" "Patience, Herath," another counselled. "But for these elves we would all have been dead." He turned to the elves. "We are most grateful." Before Thranduil could reply, there was a shout from Ruscon. "Alantierye!" She have fallen! In his surprise the Noldorin Elf resorted to his mother tongue. And he had reason to be surprised, because he was clutching a babe that had fallen from the tree above him. Had he not been an elf, with lightening-quick relfexes, the babe would have dropped to the ground. "Whose child is this?" asked Ruscon. The Woodmen looked at each other and shrugged. "All babes look the same," said one of them. "There were three woman with babes in the village; all three are dead. It could be any of them's child." "Then take the child and raise it between you," said Thranduil, and Ruscon stepped forward to hand over the babe. "My lord!" said the one who had thanked him earlier. "We do not have food in the village, and only two women remain. It is no place to raise a child." He raised his honest green eyes to meet the king's silver-grey ones. "Would you not take it and raise it?" Thranduil was again not given chance to speak, because Legolas intervened. "We will take the child, and raise it as one of our own." The man bowed. "Thank you, good sir."  
  
"Legolas?" said Gimli. His friend was lost in thought. "Legolas! Do not waste time with meaningless thoughts while someone is suffering!" For the girl was finding it hard to breathe, and she was covered in sweat from head to toe. Legolas snapped out of his memories. "We'll move her outside," he said to Gimli and Lydia. "I connot think in this darkness, and she needs fresh air." "Outside?" asked Lydia. "Won't she catch a chill outside? I mean...sick people are normally kept inside a dwelling." Legolas sighed. Humans! "I know this girl," he said, ignoring the looks of surprise on the others' faces. "She's used to being outside." He smiled at Lydia. "It won't harm her." He picked the girl up, and carried her outside, the others following.  
  
Once outside, Legolas looked around for a soft patch of grass. Ah! The grass next to the pond was soft and green. "Gimli." Gimli looked up. "Please put some travelling cloaks and blankets over there...on the grass next to the pond." Gimli nodded, recovered their travelling packs from the children (who were staring at the happenings curiously, along with some of their elders), and took out soft coverings which he laid on the grass. Legolas put down the girl gently, then knelt and put his head on her chest. He straightened up, and shook his head. The assembled people looked at him, but he turned away from their stares to look into Gimli's eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with her. It would be my guess that she was poisoned, but with what, I do not know. All I can do for her is try to keep her cool," and with this he took off his cloak, dumped it in the pool until it was completely wet, and covered the girl with it. "And no, it will not harm her, I assure you," he said in response to the whispering and muttering that broke out amongst the onlookers.  
  
Lydia had, until now, stood at the back of the crowd, but now she forward. "If I may say something," she ventured. "It's always good to give someone who have been poisened milk to drink. I could heat up some..." She looked at Legolas expectantly. He nodded. "Yes. And put some crushed lavender into the milk, as well as some honey, if you have some."Lavender and honey. Now why did I say just that? "Of course!" he said aloud. "She must have eaten some telcarne! Though...why she'd do that is beyond me." He saw the bewilderd looks of the other people. "Redroot. It grows commonly in Eriador. It causes fever and exhaustion. I came to know it by the High Elven name, as I first heard of it while studying with Lord Elrond and..." "Er...Legolas?" Gimli said. "I don't think the townspeople care much for where you came to know the plant. I don't think the girl do, either. Maybe if you remember the poison, you remember the cure as well?" Legolas laughed. "I do not remember the cure for the poison, I remembered the poison for the cure. Yea, it was not my mind at work, but my memory. The simple concontion Lydia is brewing will be cure enough for her. " He looked at the girl, who had quitened down a bit under the cold blanket. "Let us take her inside again." Gimli nodded, understanding that his friend did not like the staring of the crowd. He bent down and picked up the girl, wet covering and all. He and Legolas went indoors while the villagers chattered exitedly behind them. "Just put Lanti back in that bed, Gimli," said Legolas as he started into the kitchen. "Lanti?" asked Gimli, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
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Hope you like it! 


	3. Poison

aknightofni - thanks for the review! I expected someone to find grammar errors, because English is not my first language.  
  
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Chapter 3: Poison  
  
King Thranduil looked at his son. After Legolas had acccepted the child, he could not force Legolas to let it go, or even ask Legolas his reason for taking the babe until they were well out of earshot of the Woodmen. Luckily none of his company had any major injuries, and they could ride at once. Now they were an hour's ride from the village, and it was time to reason with Legolas. "Dismount," Thranduil said as he pulled in his reins. "Legolas, come with me. The rest of you, attend to your wounds...or something." He started to walk off the path, then turned around. "Make sure to bring the babe with you, Legolas." Legolas nodded, and walked after his father.  
  
When they were a good bit away from the rest of the company, Thranduil turned to his son. "Yes?" "Yes what?" asked Legolas, raising his eyes to meet his father's steely gaze. Though Thranduil was famous for his temper, Legolas knew him to be just and did not fear him. "What reason have you for accepting responsibility for a human child?" Legolas swallowed. "It has been such a time that we had a child in our halls, father. The youngest elf in your palace is now about 120 years old. My heart, as many others, yearns for the laughter of a child, the small footsteps, the inquiring voice. This little babe has no future in a Woodmen village. I see no harm in taking it in. If you don't want it, please say so now" He stood, having stated his point, awaiting his father's decision. "I understand your reasoning, Legolas, but if we take in this one human child, others may easily be left in our realm and we'd be forced to care for them too. I do not want the Elven Kingdom of Mirkwood to become a human nursery."  
  
Legolas considered this. There was truth and wisdom in his father's words, yet..."What if it does not happen? The Woodmen do not trust us all that much, and I'm not aware of them having any shortage of food. And," his lips twitched into a smile. "Human mothers do not give up their children easily, that much I know." He looked at his father hopefully.  
  
"Very well," Thranduil said. "You can keep the babe for three years. If everything continues as normal, you may keep it." He looked closely at the child. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Legolas grinned by himself. If Thranduil asked which gender the child was, he was undoubtly interested in it, and would let go of it hard. But now...he was curious of the child's gender as well, and looked under the blanket. "It's a girl," he reported. Thranduil nodded. "Good." "Good?" Legolas asked curiously. "I'd have thought that you would like a boy better, another warrior is always welcome in these times." "Think for a bit, Legolas," his father said. "One thing a young man fears most, is not being as good as his friends. A human boy, however good, could never live up to the standards of the elves." He saw his son's look. "You know this, Legolas. A girl would fit in much better." His manner abruptly changed. "Come. We have a long way to go yet."  
  
"We called her...Lanti...from the Quenya word alantierye, she has fallen. We...I got her when we helped some humans, and I brought her up. With some help, of course." Legolas smiled. "Just take her to the bed, Gimli. I'll tell the full tale later. Oh!" As he turned to go into the kitchen, he almost collided with Lydia, who was carring a jug of milk from which a fresh smell was rising. He steadied her hands. "Nothing spilled, I hope?" "No, nothing, thanks to you," she smiled, fluttering her eyelashes. Legolas groaned inwardly. This was the problem with human girls. They thought that if you spoke three kind words to them, you were in love, and they fall in and out of love all to quickly. They would leave here as soon as Lanti was able.  
  
In Lanti's room, Legolas took the jug from Lydia, and held it to Lanti's mouth. She was starting to get restless again. He forced about three mouthfulls of the milk down her throut. The elf, dwarf and woman stood in silence around the bed for a while, and saw the girl becoming calm and her breathing becoming steady. "She'll be all right," said Gimli, breaking the silcence. Legolas nodded. "Yes...she's tough. She'll survive this and forget about it in a month. But I wonder why she was poisoned. For," he added when he saw the look on Gimli's face at the mention of the word 'poisoned', "she knows the Wild, and she knows plants. She would not eat redroot by mistake. She must have been given it by force. But by whom?" "Come on, Legolas," said Gilmi. "Everyone makes mistakes. "She could have been tired and mistook the redroot for something else." Legolas looked doubtful. "I taught her wildcraft myself. I do not think she would make a mistake such as to eat something when she's not one hundred percent sure what it is."  
  
He turned to Lydia. "Did you say she came walking into the village?" Lydia nodded. "She was founding it hard to stay on her feet, but she was walking. Alone." "From which direction did she come?" asked Legolas. The woman frowned. "I think she came from the north...or northwest." "Could you show us whence she came?" asked Gimli, guessing his friend's thoughts. She nodded. The Elf and the Dwarf followed her out of the room.  
  
Lydia walked a ways through the village, coming to a halt at the edge of a wood. "This is the beginning of the Chetwood proper," she said. "The girl came up that path." She pointed to a well-defined track, coming out of the trees from a northerly direction. "Thank you," Legolas said. "Would you please go and care for Lanti? We will be back later this evening." It was clear to see that Lydia wanted to stay in their – in his – company, but she nodded. "I'll do that." She briskly walked off.  
  
Legolas became aware of Gimli's eyes on him. He looked sharply at the dwarf. "What?" he demanded. Gimli's lips twisted into a smile. "I didn't say anything," he said with an aura of pretend innocence. "Did those Elven ears hear anything coming from my mouth?" Legolas sighed. "No, friend Gimli. But...that woman..." He shook his head. "Let's get tracking."  
  
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Hope you like it! And if it's a bit boring, please bear with me, there is some action coming soon.  
  
Gimli: Orc-necks to hew? Corli: Shhh, Gimli, it's a secrect! 


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